Curing surface covering materials



Patented Aug. 12, 1941 UNITED STATES PATsNTQo -cr:

CURING summon COVERING MAT RIALS .Coleman R. Caryl, -Riverside; IConnQassignor to in American Cyanamid Company, New Yo'rk, Y

a corporation of Maine No Drawing. Application leather 28.1939.

Serial No. 301,795

'6Claims. (Cl. ll)6- --.264); v

eight to nine days. The resulting seasoned This invention relates to the acceleration of the rate of curing or seasoning of surface coverings such as floor covering compositions containing siccative binders, as well as to the improvement in the alkali resistance of such compositions. 3 1 V l An object of this invention is to provideaccelerators for surface covering compositions con-- taining siccative binders which will cause such compositions to cure more rapidly. Another obfloor covering shows improved alkali resistance. One method of determining alkali resistance is tomeasurethe depth in millimeters to which a .5% solutionpf sodium hydroxide in water penetratesin one "hourat a temperature of 70 F.

ject of this invention is to improve the alkali resistance of surface covering compositions containing a siccative binder.

These and other objects are attained by incorporating in a siccative composition which is to be used in a surface covering composition, a

metal cyanamide, preferably one which is Waterinsoluble and which is substantially stable in the presence of water. l The following examples are given by Way of illustration and not in limitation.

Example 1 Parts byweight Binder 3o Wood flour 30: Whiting Lithopone 20 Lead cyanamide L 0.3

These substances with or withouta small proportion of drier, e; g, 0.1% cobalt ;naphthenate,

are mixed together, e., g. in an internal mixer. The compacted mass which is delivered from the mixer may be disintegrated, as by a set of .scratch rolls which comprises. a pluralityof rolls having intermeshing teeth projecting from their surfaces. The resulting material is sheeted on calender rolls or optionally it may be further mixed and disintegrated and then calendered. The material may be calendered on to burlap or other fibrous backing if desired. The sheeted material is placed in a stoving oven through which a current of air heated from about 70 C. to about 90 C. is circulated until the material is completely seasoned, i. e. until the sheet acquires the necessary degree of hardness.

The hardness may be measured by any of the methods generally employed in the manufacture of linoleum, See the Federal Stock Catalogue (U. S. Government Printing Ofiice), section 4, part 5, pages LLL-L-351 et seq. and pages LLL-L-361 et seq., for the method employed herein. The time required for seasoning 9. 2 mm. sheet of the above composition is about By this method thealkali resistance of the seasoned sheets? is about 0.19 mm. penetration.

The seasoning speed of a 2 mm. sheet of the same mixture which does not contain lead cyanamide is about twelve to fourteen days and the alkali resistance of such a composition is about 0.28 mm. The marked improvement obtained with my composition isoutstanding inasmuch as it has been found to be very difiicult to improve the alkali resistance byeven as little as 0.01 mm.

Example 2 Parts by Weight Binder 35 Wood flour 30 Whiting 20 Titliopone 20 Lead cyanamide 3 These substancesmay be mixed and sheeted in the same general manner as in the procedure set forth in Example 1. ,The resulting fioor covering sheets season or mature in; about three to live days as compared with alseasoning speed" of twelve tofourteen days characteristic of similar compositions which omit the lead eyanamide.

. v w m Parts by weight Binder 30 i a Lithopone 20 Zinc cyanamide; Q. 3

siccative oils may be used such as, for example,

menhaden or fish oil, tung oil, soy bean cil, perilla oil, oiticica oil, Scheiber oil, sunflower seed oil, etc. The siccative oil as used herein.

of these types of oils may be used singly if desired;

In the preparation of the siccative oil binders .the fillers, etc., although they may be added before or during the oxidation of the binder. the accelerators are added before or during the it is customary to use rosin. inadmixture with" the oil although other substancesofthe same type may be used, c. g. kauri gum, Congo gum,

ester gum, abietic acid and its esters,.pimaric acid, etc. Other siccative binders which may be used are the alkyd resins which have siccative properties. Among these, the drying oil modified reaction products of'maleic or fumaric acid with terpenes and polyhydric alcohols are'particularly suitable. Otheralkyd resins which are'modified Only a small proportion of these accelerators is generally suflicient, e. g. (Ll-5% of the siccative composition but obviously smaller or larger proportions may be used if desirable. Larger proportions of water-insoluble cyanamides which are also substantially stable in the presence of water may be used in place of part or all of the pigment and/or filler.

The accelerators described herein are preferably added during the mixing of the binder with 1 oxidation, they appear to inhibit somewhat the gelation of the siccative binder. It is to be noted, "however, that after gelation the accelerators Ispeed up the curing of the siccative composition.

Obviously many modifications in the processes I and compositions described above may be made with drying oils ordrying oil acids may be used usedare included: lithopone,barytes, zinc oxide,

.titanium oxide,.chromates, redlead, white lead, malachite green, chrome green, chrome yellow, Prussian blue, iron oxide, etc. Similarly dyes and lakes maybe used if desirable.

Itis generallypreferable'to use driers in the E preparationof 'tl'ie'binders; The drier is usually added to thebinder'duringthe oxidation process and'ifdesira'ble, additional drier may be added whenthe'birrder,"fillersfta, are mixed together.

Suitabledriers include the oil-soluble salts such as the naphthenates resinates and linoleates of cobalt, lead, manganese, zinc, chromium. Only a small proportion of these driers based on the siccative oil content, is generally sufiicient, e. g. about 0.005-1%, although larger proportons may be used as expedient. Obviously various mixtures of driers may be used. I

The term seasoning as applied to linoleum compositions indicates the process of curing by heating or equivalent treatment to polymerize and/ or oxidize the composition to a stage wherein the "floor covering is sufficiently hard and resistant to abrasion'to'be suitable for its intended purpose and yet is still sufiiciently flexible to permit the usual bending and rolling required of linoleum. The term maturing is similarly used.

Other accelerators which may be used include cobalt cyanamide, iron cyanamide, nickel cyanamide, copper cyanamide, calcium cyanamide, etc.

without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

i. In a process of curing a surface covering composition including, a siccative material selected from the group consisting of drying oils and drying oil modified polyhydric alcohol-polybasic acid resins, the step which comprises adding to such a composition a water-insoluble metal cyanamide which is substantially stable in the presence of water.

,2. In a process of curing a surface covering composition containing a siccative oil binder, the step which comprises adding to such a composition a water-insoluble cyanamide which is substantially stable in the presence of water.

3. In adprocess of curing a surface covering composition containing a siccative alkyd resin binder, the step which comprises adding to such a composition a water-insoluble metal cyanamide which is substantially stable in the presence of water.

.4. In a process of curing a surface covering composition including a siccative material selected'from the group consisting of drying oils and dryingoilmodifi'ed polyhydric alcohol-polybasicacidresins; the'step which comprises adding to such "a composition 'a small proportion of le'ad'cyanamide.

5. Ina process of curing a surface covering composition-including a siccative material selected from the-group consisting of drying oils anddrying oil modified polyhydric alcohol-polybasic'acid resins, the step which comprises adding to'such a composition a small proportion of zinc cyanamide.

6. A surface covering composition containing a siccative binder including a material selected from the group consisting of drying oils and drying oil modified polyhy-dric alcohol-polybasic acid resins and a water-insoluble metal cyanamide which is substantially stable in the presence of water.

COLEMAN R.'CARYL. 

